After the Bottles, the world’s only bio-recycling company for PET plastic, introduced a polyester fiber processing machine on Monday to develop industrial recycling of textile waste.
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“A market is emerging to finally develop industrial recycling of textile waste,” the general director of this company, Carbios, Emmanuel Ladent, told AFP. “We can no longer allow open-air landfills piling up used clothing from developed countries, like the Atacama Desert in South America,” he added during the presentation in Clermont. -Ferrand.
“We bring in T-shirts, ski jackets or other worn sportswear, the machine shreds them, removes buttons or fasteners [à glissière] “We process textile waste and produce pieces of 1 to 2 square centimeters that can be recycled using our enzymatic process to recycle new textile fibers,” explained the director of this French company.
The start-up has invested around one million euros to design, develop and patent this unique demonstration machine, which will be used to validate the textile recycling process “before moving to industrial scale in the east of France, expected in early 2025.” said Mr. Ladent.
The demonstrator is capable of processing 300 kg of clothing per hour.
On Monday, French Industry Minister Roland Lescure launched the project on the site of a former Michelin factory in Clermont-Ferrand as part of a new “center for sustainable materials.”
Carbios will “recycle textiles that we now know are not being sufficiently recycled.” We have fast fashion, ultra fast fashion, which in my opinion is far too fast and not fashionable enough, so we have to focus on textiles that are made in France and recycled in France,” explained the minister.
“Polyester textiles account for two-thirds of global PET plastic production,” recalled Mr. Ladent, demonstrating the enormous potential for innovation.
Carbios has received the support of sportswear brands such as Salomon, On Running or Puma, who want to create a closed loop to be able to reuse recycled fibers.
By 2030, the European Union wants to set “a minimum proportion of recycled fibers in the composition of textiles,” according to the Commission’s website.